Rousing music and brave performances marked the Coast Symphony Orchestra’s (CSO) concert Heroic last Sunday, May 25, at the Raven’s Cry Theatre in Sechelt.
“We need our heroes,” said artistic director Edette Gagne in her pre-concert chat. Heroes are our inspiration [her own hero is her mother], and the great composers have been inspired by heroic acts. The Modest Mussorgsky piece was inspired by artist and architect Victor Hartmann who designed the Knight’s Gate in Kiev, Ukraine — a gate of heroic proportions that was never built.
The music became part of Mussorgsky’s famous Pictures at an Exhibition. When the CSO played it, Gagne dedicated it to her colleagues in Kiev that they might find peace.
The Academic Festival Overture, opus 80 was written by Johannes Brahms, who was both inspired and terrified by his hero Beethoven.
Athletes also inspire, and the orchestra performed Summon the Heroes, a piece written by John Williams for the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games. They closed the first half with Verdi’s Anvil Chorus from Il Trovatore.
“Who inspires you?” asked maestra Gagne, and the public was invited to submit their short essays on the subject. Hannah Bailey Marincak, 10, was the “hands down winner” of the contest and, with great composure, she read her piece, Garth — My Hero, to the audience. Her inspiration is her dog — a pet that offers her its love.
The highlight of the afternoon concert came in the second half when the most famous notes in musical history, da-da-da-dum, opened a rendition of Beethoven’s Fifth.
“The orchestra has worked long and hard on this music,” Gagne said. “You should come out changed by it.”
Indeed, if not transformational, the orchestra certainly proved up for the challenge and conveyed the power of this mighty work. They were met with a standing ovation from the less than full house.
Ticket sales cover only a small portion of the cost of bringing music to life, Gagne said, and the audience was encouraged to become a Friend of the Orchestra. New members are also welcome by contacting president Gord Beynon at 604-886-8398.
